Why is it that some businesses seem to “execute” their plans instead of implement them? You know what I mean: the plan is completed, distributed, and promptly abandoned to die a slow (or not-so-slow) death on the bookshelf or Wiki.
If you would like to make sure that your plan will be “executed” – that is, never actually implemented – by your team, here are five “bullets” that should do the trick!
* Make sure your plan is all brains and no heart. Brain science repeatedly shows that humans have a “thinking” brain (the neocortex) and an “emotional” brain (the limbic brain). Traditional planning is typically done with our “thinking” brains, as we dive deep into research and analysis to create pages upon pages of planning perfection. Thank goodness that changing behavior requires that our logical and emotional brains be on the same page… because that’s the piece that traditional planning often leaves out. Sure, we’ve got a plan. We know what to do. We understand why it’s important. But because we have no emotional connection to that plan… we feel no passion for what it proposes. In other words, we know what we should do, but we don’t want to because we simply don’t care about it.
So how do you ensure that your team won’t care about your plan?
* Hand the plan down to your team. We care about things that we create and feel a part of. When you include your team in your plan’s creation, they start to feel some ownership in the plan. When they can see themselves in that plan – how they connect to that plan, and how it connects to a bigger picture that they care about – then you’re treading on dangerous ground: they will feel vested in making that plan a reality! Don’t give your team that chance. Be sure to keep your team out of the planning process. That way, when they receive your beautiful plan, it will just be some pile of paper they won’t have time to care about. (Phew!)
Better yet…
* Have someone else create your plan for you! What better way to keep yourself emotionally excluded from your own plan than to have someone else prepare it for you? Hire a consultant and have them create a perfect plan for you. That way, you’ll be the one receiving that pile of paper you won’t have time to care about!
In that same vein,
* Look to others to implement your plan. Hey, it was good enough that you got the plan done in the first place, right? Hand it off to your staff and let them deal with it now. You’ve got other important work to catch up on now that the planning’s done.
Lastly, here’s a sneaky way to ensure you “execute” that plan…
* Leave “implementation” out of your plan altogether. I was researching planning processes recently, when I made this startling discovery: business plans rarely actually include “implementation” in the plan! Instead, they skip from plan creation to plan monitoring. If I were still in the research world, I would want to study this one a bit closer… as it brings up memories of my four year old nephew remarking “well, you didn’t say I had to use toothpaste when I brushed my teeth… ”
Clearly, I’m being facetious in this post. I don’t actually want you to do any of these things, of course! I do want to hear about your experiences, though!
What’s your experience with good plans that were “executed” instead of implemented? Was it a quick or a slow death? And how did that experience shape your planning process moving forward? Post your thoughts in the “comments” section below… and let the conversation continue!
Five Sure-Fire Ways to “Execute” Your Plan
